Electrical-circuit controller.



V., A. A. & L. GANG. ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-'23, 1913.

Patented July 14, 1914i 8 wve ntoz 5 0W M qm'itmmeo UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

VERNON CANO, ARTHUR A. CANO, AND LEWIS CANO, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICAL-CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, VERNON CANo, AR- THUR A.CANo, and Lnwrs CANO, citizens of the United States, and residents ofNew York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Electrical-Circuit Controllers,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrical circuit-contr0llers and especiallyto a multiple circuit-controller by means of which two normallyseparated electrical conductors may be brought into contact at any oneof a plurality of points.

A special object is to furnish a multiple circuit-controller of thesimplest and cheapest construction for closing contact between twoadjacent conductors at any one or more of a large number of points, thepreferred construction employed being one in which substantially nothingmore is involved than the two conductors themselves and a supportingstrip for carrying them.

The invention is adapted for use in connection with any ordinaryelectrical controlling or other circuit in which it is desired to makecontact at will between two main conductors at any one or more of alarge number of points in the length of said conductors, the inventionbeing especially applicable to the giving of a visual or audible signalfrom various points in a building or room and to the protection ofwalls, etc, against burglarious entry.

Other features of the invention not hereinbefore referred to will behereinafter clescribed and claimed and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a face View of an electricalcircuit-controller embodying our invention and comprising two electricalconductors carried and normally separated by a strip of insulatingmaterial; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modification of theconstruction; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the applicationof'the invention in a circuitcontroller of large area having severalrows of points of contact of conductors instead of Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application fi1ed November 28, 1913.

Patented July 14, 1914.

Serial No. 803,578.

the single row shown in the other views, and Fig. 4: is an enlargedtransverse section of Fig. l, the section being taken in line 4l,

Fig. 1.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

Referring first to Fig. 1, we have illustrated in this view a pair ofelectrical conductors carried by an insulating support or strip in sucha manner that said conductors are normally separated from each other atone or more points. Said insulating support also embodies in this casemeans for bringing said conductors into contact with each other at anyone of said points. lVhile this view illustrates a circuit-controllerwith conductors having a plurality of points of separation and aplurality of devices for efiecting contact of the conductors at suchpoints, the invention is embodied in a single unit of the controllershown in said view and such a unit would comprise two conductors such asare illustrated at 2 and 3, normally separated at a single point, asindicated clearly in Fig. 4:, and a device, such as the tongue 4,integral with the main body or strip of insulating material, 5, forpressing said conductors into electrical contact. The strip 5shown is inthe preferred construction a flexible stri 3 of insulating fiberrelatively thin but of su cient thickness to have a fair amount ofstiffness, and this strip has a large opening or openings, such as 6,therein at opposite sides of which the conductors 2 and 3 cross eachother but are out of contact normally. This contact may be made in anysuitable manner, but we prefer, as just stated, to cmploy tongues, suchas 1, which are disposed in the openings 6 but are of smaller area, soas to leave a clear space around them except at the point of connectionof each tongue with the strip 5, the object of this being to facilitatethe insertion of the conductor 3 in place under each tongue and betweenit and the body of the strip.

Each conductor may be secured to the strip in any desired manner, butpreferably by threading it through openings properly located in thestrip. The conductor 3 is here shown as a fiat strip of sheet metal andthe conductor 2 as an ordinary round wire. For the round wire conductorsmall circular holes, such as 7, are preferably provided; while for theflat strip, long slots, such as S, are preferable, these being disposedin pairs close together as shown in Fig. 1. The flat strip is threadedthrough these slots and under the tongues 4 and always passes theopenings 6 on one side thereof, that is, at the front, as seen in Fig.1; while the conductor or wire 2 is threaded through the smallroundholes 7 in such a manner that it always crosses an opening (5 andthe conductor 3 at the opposite side of the strip 5, that is, at theback thereof. Thus at the points of crossing-the conductors are alwaysnormally separatedso thatthe circuit remains open and no current canpass. The tongue t-is located at one side,-here the front, of both ofthe conductors and of the device as a whole and is intended to closecontact between -the conductors by pressing them together. To accomplishthis each tongue of course has suflicientmovement to assure the bringingof the conductors into engagement,qand the conductors themselves havesufiicient play in the openings 7 and 8 and are sufliciently' loose topermit them, though normally separated, to be brought together readily.-I

It will be noticed that the conductor 3 extends substantiallyin astraight line from end to end of the circuit-controlling strip, whereasthe conductor 2 is passed back and forth. transversely of the conductor3 for a considerable portion of its length, in order that points ofcrossing may be established at each opening by each conductor at whichelectrical contact may be made. The conductors 2 and 3 at their ends maybe suitably secured to terminals, such as the metallic eyelets 9 and 10,which complete the circuit-controllingstrip. This strip as a whole maythen be secured in place along any wall or other surface to which it isdesired to apply it and may be connected in anyproper electrical circuitto be controlled by merely connecting the terminals of said circuit toone pair of terminals 9 and 10 on r the strip.

nary round wire, 3, is threaded under said tongues and through smallround openings, 8", similar to those shown at 7 Otherwise theconstruction is substantially identical with that of Fig. 1 and theoperation the same.

In Fig. 3 we have illustrated a modification of the invention showingits application to the protection of a surface of large area. Here aconductor 2 is threaded back and forth across and lengthwise of arelatively wide sheet, 5, of insulating material and passes throughnumerous small openings 7 disposed in a plurality of rows bothlengthwise and crosswise of said sheet. We have also shown three flatstrip conductors, 3, like those of Fig. 1, these three conductors beingillustratedv as parallel with one another and as connected at theiropposite ends by conducting wires, 11, by which they are joined inmultiple to the terminals 10 as before; the conductor 2 being connectedsubstantially as before described to the cont-actterminals 9. Thecontact strips 3 are threaded, as in Fig. 1, through pairs of parallelslots 8. The construction is such that there are'three rows of breaks atthe openings 6 and the tongues at any one of which points the circuitmay be closed by pressing on the proper tongue. For convenience thelarge openings 6 and the tongues in. alternating rows in this view arestaggered, as are the pairs of slots The positions of some of the smallopenings 7 forithe round wire 2 are also varied because of thestaggering of the'tongues of different rows. In other respects, however,the construction is substantially identical. with that of Fig.1 andthemode of operation is the same, there being, however, instead of asingle series of breaks in multiple three series of breaks in multiple.i

It will be obvious from the foregoing that our improved electricalcircuit-controller may be employed either as a single unit or as a.strip consisting of a single row of units. or that it may embody a largenumberof elements in each of a. large number of rows for protecting asurface of great area over which contact may be established when any oneof a large number of tongues, such as at, is pressed either accidentallyor intentionally.

We claim 1. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a stripofinsulating material having a relatively large opening, a pair ofnormally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossing eachother at said opening and one being movable to and from a position forcontact with the other, and means at one side of said conductorsfor'press'in them together.

2. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a strip of insulatingmaterial hav ing a relatively large opening, a pair ofnormally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossing eachother at opposite sides of said opening and one being movable to andfrom a position for contact with the other, and means at one side ofsaid conductors for pressing them together.

3. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a strip of insulatingmaterial having a relatively large opening, a pair of normally-separatedconductors secured to said strip and crossing each other at oppositesides of said opening, and a tongue on said strip at one side of saidconductors for pressing them together.

4. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a strip of insulatingmaterial having a tongue outlined by a cut portion of the strip, and apair of normally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossingeach other at one side of said tongue and at opposite sides of theopening formed by the tongue and adapted to be brought into contact bypressure on the opposite side of said tongue.

5. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a strip of insulatingmaterial having a tongue outlined by a cut portion of the strip, a pairof normally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossing eachother at one side of said tongue and at opposite sides of the openingformed by the tongue and adapted to be brought into contact by pressureon the opposite side of said tongue, and circuit terminals on said stripto which said conductors are connected.

6. An electrical circuit-controller, comprising a flexible strip ofinsulating fiber having a tongue outlined by a cut portion of the strip,and a pair of normally-separated conductors secured to said strip andcrossing each other at one side of said tongue and at opposite sides ofthe opening formed by the tongue and adapted to be brought into contactby pressure on the opposite side of said tongue.

7. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a stripof material having a row of relatively large openings therein, a pair ofnormally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossing eachother at opposite sides of said openings and one being movable to andfrom a position for contact with the other, and means at each openingfor pressing said conductors together.

8. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a stripof material having a row of relatively large openings therein, a pair ofnormally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossing eachother at opposite sides of said openings, and tongues on said strip ateach opening for pressing said conductors together.

9. A multiple-contact electrical circuit controller, comprising a stripof material having a row of tongues each outlined by a cut portion ofthe strip and a pair of normally-separated conductors secured to saidstrip and one of which crosses the other at one side of each tongue andis adapted to be brought into cont-act with the other by pressure on theopposite side of said tongue.

10. A multiple-contact electrical circuiteontroller, comprising a stripof material having a row of tongues each outlined by a cut portion ofthe strip, and a pair of normally-separated conductors secured to saidstrip and one of which extends substantially in a straight linelengthwise of the strip and the other of which crosses the first at oneside of each tongue and is adapted to be brought into contact with thefirst by pressure on the opposite side of said tongue.

11. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a stripof material having a row of integral tongues each formed in an openingof larger area, and a pair of normally-separated conductors secured tosaid strip, one of which conductors extends substantially in. a straightline lengthwise of the strip under said tongues and the other of whichcrosses the first at one side of each tongue and is adapted to bebrought into contact with the first by pres sure on the opposite side ofsaid tongue.

12. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a stripof material having a row of relatively large openings therein, a pair01"? normally-separated conductors secured to said strip and crossingeach other at opposite sides of said openings, two series of openings insaid strip through which said tongues are threaded to locate them inposition, and means at each of said large openings for pressing saidconductors together.

13. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a stripor" material having a row of tongues each outlined by a cut portion ofthe strip, a pair of normallyseparated conductors secured to said stripand one of which crosses the other at one side of each tongue and isadapted to be brought into contact with the other by pres sure on theopposite side of said tongue, and two series of openings in said stripthrough which said conductors are threaded to locate them in position.

14. A nudtiplecontact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a sheetof material having a plurality of rows of relatively large openingstherein, a pair of normallyseparated conductors secured to said sheetand crossing each other at opposite sides of the openings of all of saidrows, and means at each opening for pressing said conduc tors together.

15. A multiple-contact electrical circuitcontroller, comprising a sheetof material having a plurality of parallel rows of tongues each outlinedby a cut portion of the sheet, New York, and State of New York, this anda pair of normally-separated conductors 11th day of Nov., A. D. 1913.secured to said sheet and one of which crosses VERNON CANO.

the other at one side of each tongue in each ARTHUR A. CANO. row and isadapted to bebrought into con- LEVIS CANO. tact with the other conductorby pressure Vitnesses: on the opposite side of said tongue. VILLIAMROONEY, Signed at New York, in the county of HARRY BRADY.

Copies of thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. i

